Marriage Equality Act (New York)
| Marriage Equality Act (New York) | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| New York State Legislature | |
| Full name | Marriage Equality Act |
| Status | Passed |
| Introduced | June 14, 2011 |
| Assembly voted | June 15, 2011 |
| Senate voted | June 24, 2011 |
| Signed into law | June 24, 2011 |
| Sponsor(s) | Assem. Daniel O'Donnell, Sen. Thomas Duane |
| Governor | Andrew Cuomo |
| Code | Domestic Relations Law |
| Section | Sections 10, 11, 13 |
| Resolution | AB A08354 |
| Website | Text of the bill and Text of an amendment |
The Marriage Equality Act is a 2011 New York State law that allows gender-neutral marriages for both same- and opposite-sex couples, while prohibiting state and local courts and governments from penalizing religious and religious-supervised institutions, their employees, or clergy for refusing to sanctify or recognize marriages in contradiction with their religious doctrines, or for refusing to provide services and accommodations for such weddings. It was introduced to the New York State Assembly by Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell. It was signed into law on June 24, 2011, and took effect on July 24, 2011.
From the date that Marriage Equality Act entered into force until when California re-legalized marriage for same-sex couples in 2013, New York was the most-populous state in the union to allow same-sex couples to wed.
Before July 24, 2011, New York only allowed for recognition of legal same-sex marriages performed in other states of the union and countries where same-sex marriage is legal, such as Canada and Spain, while also limiting legal recognition of in-state same-sex relationships to the rights of unregistered cohabitation; numerous municipalities afford domestic partnership registries to residents engaged in same-sex relationships.
The bill made New York the sixth state in the United States to legalize and retain the in-state certification and legalization of same-sex marriage (excluding California, which legalized and performed some 18,000 same-sex marriages before a ban on further marriages was promulgated through referendum), and also made the state the most populous in the union to do so.
A similar bill which would legalize same-sex marriage performances in New York was passed by the State Assembly in 2007 by a majority of 85-61, but languished in the Republican-controlled Senate before dying and being returned to the Assembly. Then-governor Eliot Spitzer promoted the bill among lawmakers in Albany.
Another bill, A40003, was passed in the Assembly on May 12, 2009 with a majority of 89-52, but languished in the Senate during the November 10 special session. It was re-passed by the Assembly on December 2 but the Senate equivalent, S4401-2009, was defeated on the same day in the Senate by a majority of 38-24, with 8 Democratic senators voting against the Democratic caucus.David Paterson, who also promoted the bill, introduced the bill on April 16.
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